Qualifying for the first race in the Gen 3 era of Formula E in Saudi Arabia got off to a less-than-ideal start for Maserati as Maximilian Guenther crashed early on in the Group A session. He was uninjured after the collision with the barrier.
Ticktum and Rowland went head to head in the first quarter final with Ticktum taking the victory.
Di Grassi and Hughes went head to head for the second quarter final and Hughes taking the victory in that one.
It was Evans against Buemi in the third quarter final and Buemi took the victory.
Rast and Bird went head to head for the final quarter final with Rast losing out to Bird by 2 tenths.
In the first semi final, Hughes took victory over Ticktum which saw Hughes go through to the final.
The second semi final saw Buemi take victory over Bird by less than a tenth.
The final saw an epic battle from Buemi and Hughes. Buemi just took pole over Hughes.
Sebastian Buemi with his Pole Trophy in ahead of the Diriyah E-Prix. Credit: Formula E
Race
Before the race began, it was announced that Sergio Sette Camara would have a 3 place penalty for impeding Pascal Wehrlein in qualifying.
Maximilian Guenther’s crash in qualifying resulted in him not starting the race.
The 39 lap event started with contact between Rowland and Da Costa which resulted in them both pitting early on. This led to the safety car being brought out for less than a lap. Evans hit Rene Rast on lap 1 turn 1 as well. It was a calm safety car restart but then Sam Bird got Jake Hughes who started in P2. However, Bird was not done yet. He then started to hunt Buemi down and he eventually got him.
Fast track to Lap 7 where Bird took the lead over from Buemi after his hunt. Onto lap 11, Evans tried to get past Rast but locked up and lost a few places as a result. Lap 15 saw Muller pit and eventually retire from the EPrix.
Lap 25 saw an epic battle between Pascal Wehrlein and Sam Bird. Wehrlein had more energy and an extra attack more compared to Bird. He managed to stay with him but going into turn 18, he locked up and lost the place he gained for a few seconds. Further down, Cassidy was trying to get past the Andretti of Jake Dennis but instead, Dennis and Cassidy got the McLaren of Jake Hughes when Hughes had to get his attack mode.
Enter the final stages of the race and Wehrlein was still on Sam Bird’s tail. Onto lap 30 and turn 18, Wehrlein gets past Bird and maintains it. Buemi had to get his last attack mode which put Dennis up into 3rd place after starting 11th.
Lap 33 comes around and Dennis was on a charge. Dennis takes Bird on lap 34 just as Wehrlein gets his second attack mode. Wehrlein came out just ahead of Dennis but it saw a battle to the end which saw Wehrlein take his second victory in Formula E.
Further down the field, Maserati’s last remaining car of Eduardo Mortara had to retire on lap 33. He joined Muller as the second retirement of the race. Muller’s teammate Kevin Van Der Linde only managed P16 on his debut for the injured Robin Frijns. Da Costa and Rowland also managed to make it to the end of the race but finishing in the bottom 2 positions due to their collisions on lap 1. Despite obtaining P4 in qualifying, Dan Ticktum dropped down to P14 by the end of the race with his teammate Sergio Sette Camara behind him in 15th.
Di Grassi, Nato and Vandoorne finished off the non points scorers with Evans Lotterer, Hughes, Vergne and Cassidy making up from P10 top 6 respectfully. Rene Rast for McLaren managed P5 with the fastest lap and Buemi finishing P4 to round off the non podium positions.
Wehrlein took the win ahead of Dennis in P2 and Bird in P3.
After many months of speculation, the Formula 2 Grid for 2023 has been announced and there are a lot of changes in comparison to the 2022 Grid.
Felipe Drugovich, Liam Lawson, Logan Sargeant, Juri Vips, Jake Hughes, Marino Sato, Marcus Armstrong, Olli Caldwell, Calan Williams and Cem Bolukbasi have all left the series. Bolukbasi was replaced mid season in 2022 by Tatiana Calderon but she will not be returning either.
2023 will see a lot of drivers make the step from Formula 3 to Formula 2 this season. Arthur Leclerc, Oliver Bearman, Brad Benavides, Roman Stanek, Isack Hadjar, Kush Maini, Victor Martins, Jak Crawford and Zane Maloney have all made this jump. Maloney finished P2 in the F3 2022 season finishing behind Martins with Bearman, Hadjar, Stanek and Leclerc rounding out the top six.
In total, six Red Bull Junior Drivers make up the 22 places on the grid. Of the eleven teams on the grid, eight of them are holding at least one rookie, with MP Motorsport, VAR Amersfoort Racing and Virtuosi Racing are the only teams without any rookies this season.
The Red Bull Junior Drivers for Formula 2 and Formula 3 in 2023. Credit: Formula 2 on Twitter
Some returning faces to the F2 grid also include Roy Nissany, Frederik Vesti, Dennis Hauger, Jehan Daruvala and Richard Verschoor to name a few. Juan Manuel Correa will also be returning to the sport full time since his accident in Spa 2019. All have competed in at least one F2 season before with some proven winners, pole sitters and points scorers.
The Formula 2 2023 Grid. Credit: Formula 2 on Twitter
What do you think of the F2 2023 grid? Will this be a year of redemption for some returning drivers or will a rookie grasp the fame? Who do you think will take the all important F2 2023 World Champion title?
Image courtesy of Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
The dust has just started to settle on the highly controversial season finale of the third running of the Virtual LeMans Series 2022-2023, with a lot of heated comments being thrown towards Motorsport Games, the organisers of the series, and license holder to the Virtual LeMans name. In case you have missed the latest fire being started in the sim racing world, here is a brief overview. LMP favourites Team Redline were leading the championship coming into the final round at LeMans, the number 1 car being driven by Sim racing stars Diogo Pinto & Jeffery Rietveld alongside two pro drivers, Aston Martin BRDC Driver of the year 2022 Luke Browning, and double Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen.
People like Luke and Max will bring a considerable amount of attention with them from their respective fanbase, and the event is a great opportunity for the sim racing world to show the real racing fans and champions what it has to offer, however the event won’t be remembered for the great battles that took place throughout the event (particularly in the night hours), the Team Redline number two car came home to win the LMP class, or the Romain Grosjean backed R8G esports car won the GTE class. Alas, the event will be remembered for the public scathing from Max Verstappen in particular, the champion labelling the event as “a clown show”.
Let’s take a look at what happened. In the first half of the event, the race had to be stopped due to a security breach on the servers hosting the race, on two separate occasions. Reports suggest that a DDOS attack had been initiated on the servers, making the game unplayable for all concerned, forcing the organisers to halt the race until the issue was resolved. Whilst this attack on the servers is, quite frankly, pathetic on the part of those conducting the attack, it raises questions about the management of the servers themselves.
After the DDOS situation had been resolved, the race continued through the night without too much drama, with plenty of racing action to keep the audience entertained, but in the latter part of the race, driver disconnects were a concern. This is always a concern for endurance sim racing, irrespective of the event, but there had been an alarming number of disconnects reported.
In the rulebook, it is stated that if four or more cars disconnect at the same time, the stewards have the discretion to award the lost laps back to the affected teams. However, if three or less cars disconnect in short succession, no consideration is given to awarding the laps back to the affected team, and this was the straw that broke the Verstappen back. Max had disconnected from the race whilst in the lead, and because Team Redline had been informed that they were not being awarded the laps back (for the above reason), Max parked the car in the garage, thus retiring them from the race.
On the surface, this may seem a rash decision, especially as the championship was on the line and the team had prepared for months for this event alone, but this was the culmination of numerous disconnects for the number 1 team (not just Max), and all the other teams affected by this same issue, and the feeling of injustice when laps had been awarded back to other teams but not to Redline (again, for the above reasons).
Max has vowed never to participate in this event again, and the sim racing world will be seen in a negative light because of this event. The fans took to social media to call for Motorsport Games to relinquish the license, and for another platform to be used for this event in the future. Sim racing is always trying to prove itself in the eyes of real-world racing fans, as well as drivers and sponsorship opportunities, which this event has done no favours to at all.
Should Max have retired the car in anger? Should the organisers have treated the situation differently? There are always two sides to each argument, as strictly speaking, the organisers did enforce the rules that were set out before the season began, and all participants agreed to adhere to, but when the servers themselves are identified as the issue, lessons must be learnt from this event.
The championship returns after as always, a short winter break. This will be the 91st running of this classic event, and M-Sport Ford return as the winning team after their victory with Seb and Isabella.
Let’s take a look at the stages then. The rally has over 325km’s over the 18 stages.
Rallye Monte-Carlo begins on Thursday with two evening stages, including the longest test of the rally: La Cabanette / Col de Castillon (24.90km)
Friday’s itinerary consists of two loops of Roure / Roubion / Beuil (18.33km), Puget-Théniers / Saint-Antonin (19.79km) and Briançonnet / Entrevaux (14.55km), separated by a tyre fitting zone
Saturday is the longest day of the event, with the six stages boasting a total distance of 111.78km
The rally concludes on Sunday with two passes each of Lucéram / Lantosque (18.82km) and La Bollène-Vésubie / Col de Turini (15.12km), with the second of the latter acting as the Power Stage.
We have already seen the detailed changes to two of the three teams. It will be interesting to see who has made the most of their testing schedule over the winter as they attempt to understand their new cars and how to get the most out the performance capabilities.
Let’s hear from the drivers.
Toyota Gazoo Racing
Kalle Rovanperä
“My feeling is good before the start of the new season. We know that it will not be easy to defend the championship. We have seen that the competition level is getting higher all the time, so we need to try and raise our game also and keep pushing hard. The team is again doing a great job to try and maximise the performance and make the car faster and stronger. Rallye Monte-Carlo is a special event, and usually makes for a bit of a tricky and nervous start to the season. But I’m more confident going into the rally than I was last year when everything was so new with the car; now I know that we should have everything in the right direction and be able to have an easier start. It’s never simple to have a clean rally there, but that will be our plan to begin the season in the right way.”
2022 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 01 / Rallye Monte Carlo 2022 / 20-23 January 2022 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Elfyn Evans
“The WRC off-season is always pretty short, but I was still happy to take a bit of a break and now I feel ready to go into the new season. Last year fell short of my own expectations personally, but we managed to make some progress and I’m hoping to be able to put better results together this season. The team is always working to evolve the car, and twelve months in to the Rally1 era we understand things a lot better. Like always it should be a competitive year, but I definitely feel that we’re in a better place to challenge, and to fight for the title remains my goal. Rallye Monte-Carlo is a classic event and one that everyone wants to win. It’s always a big challenge, especially with the conditions, but it’s a challenge I enjoy and hopefully we can start the year with a positive result.”
Sébastien Ogier
“I’m still very excited at the start of the season, even though I’m no longer taking part in the full year. It’s always a pleasure to sit behind the steering wheel of a top WRC car. Last year I really enjoyed doing these few rallies. It was good to see I could still be competitive, and the target is to try and stay on a similar level this year and fight for some more wins. I know that the team is never relaxing; even though the last seasons have been very successful, they are still working very hard. Rallye Monte-Carlo is probably the one I want to win the most and I will do my best once more. Preparation has been more difficult as everybody is limited to one day of testing, which is difficult for such a complex event with different conditions and tyre options. But it’s the same for everybody, and I will try to make the most of my experience.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Ott Tänak
“Rallye Monte-Carlo is always a difficult one to expect something, but for sure it’s the trickiest rally of the season. It won’t be any easier this time as well to get into the rhythm right away, so we expect nothing less than another tricky weekend in the mountains.
“We tried to get the best out of our first test days and we were lucky to experience the car in different conditions. It’s never easy to start the season from the blank page and building up the setup, but the boys and girls from M-Sport are working hard and hopefully we are well prepared for the upcoming challenge. I’m really looking forward to our first race together.”
Pierre-Louis Loubet
“I’m really happy with this week’s test; we tried a number of things, much more than usual, and the car felt great. The car is built for these kinds of roads and it’s very enjoyable to drive. I hope we will see similar conditions to the test on the rally next week, that would suit us really well.
“I’m trying to stay calm, it’s a fantastic opportunity to have my first full season with M-Sport, but it’s also a big responsibility and I take that very seriously. So, I’m trying to keep a cool head, and we’ll see how we do throughout the season. We have all the tools we need to do well.”
Jourdan Serderidis
“Starting the WRC season with a Puma Rally1, with M-Sport at Monte-Carlo is first a privilege but also a major challenge. Considering the level of competition and the tricky snow and ice conditions, I will be more than happy to be in the top 20 of this fantastic rally. It’s not only the most beautiful event on the calendar but the most challenging as well. We had a good test in snowy conditions yesterday, so I believe we are ready for the fun!”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville
“I always like starting the year with Rallye Monte-Carlo; it is an event where we have been competitive in recent years. I expect we will face some tricky conditions, despite the warm weather in the region at the moment. Monte-Carlo is always a bit of a surprise, but I’m looking forward to it. It’s nice to kick off a new season; everyone is on equal points again, and it’s up to us to make the best out of the clean slate. The package of the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid has improved so much since its first round in 2022, which helps with our confidence going into this year. There’s been some slight evolutions on the car which will give it even more performance. We never know what our opponents have done during the winter, but I don’t think there will be any big changes. While everybody will have improved a bit, hopefully we are all on a similar level.”
2022 FIA World Rally Championship Round 01, Rallye Monte-Carlo 2022 17-23 January 2022 Thierry Neuville Photographer: Austral Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Esapekka Lappi
“Rallye Monte-Carlo changed location last year; it moved closer to Monaco and there was a bit less snow and ice than before. I don’t know whether that will be the case this year as well, but if it is, then it will certainly make things simpler for us, as we also have to learn a whole new car. Thursday night is always quite tense – I have to say it is not the nicest feeling climbing up the hill in the darkness on slick tyres in potentially icy conditions! There is excitement, but there is also a small bit of fear. However, it’s quite special, and the following morning you feel more at ease – at least in your mindset. I’m excited to start this adventure with a new team; I will only have one test day on tarmac, but I will go there with my mind open and not give up before we’ve even started. I am confident we can have good pace – maybe not from the very first stage, but certainly we will develop a lot during the weekend and hopefully finish well.”
Dani Sordo
“Rallye Monte-Carlo is a difficult event, but now it is based more around Monaco and the south of France it may be a little bit better in terms of the weather. It is always a challenge due to the conditions; normally it is cold, and you have the potential for ice, especially first thing in the morning. As a result, in the course of one stage you can come across so many different levels of grip on the tarmac, so it is very demanding. However, we need to be a little bit closer to the rally to see what the weather will do and understand what we are going to face on the stages. It is important to start the season well; every time you arrive to the first event you do so with full power and recharged batteries. Overall, I really like Monte-Carlo and its stages, so hopefully we can perform well and begin the year with a positive result.”
The WRC2 category is hugely supported as well in this round with Skoda, Ford, Citroen, Hyundai and Volkswagen cars being run.
M-Sport are running two Fiesta Rally2 cars for Adrien and Gregoire this year. Let’s hear from them both.
Adrien Fourmaux
“Rallye Monte Carlo is, of course, the most famous in the Championship, and it’s always a fantastic way to start the season. We’re hoping for a good result on this rally to give us the best start possible for the WRC2 Championship. It’s one of the most difficult rallies of the season, with tricky and changing road conditions, and we should have the full effect with some snow and ice conditions too. I’m looking forward to getting back out in a Rally2 and seeing what we can achieve.”
Grégoire Munster
“We’re looking forward to going to Monte Carlo for the first time with a car prepared by M-Sport. We’ve done the rally a few times in the past so we have some experience there, but I don’t think it would be realistic to say we will aim straight for a big result. We will just try to get familiar with the car, be consistent throughout the weekend and see where we end up. We want to start our campaign on a good footing.”
TokSport will also be running a number of the new Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 for the following drivers: Sami Pajari, Nikolay Gryazin and Marco Bulacia. In addition to those drivers, Oliver Solberg, Chris Ingram and lots of others will also be driving Skoda’s as well. Hyundai’s will be run by Motorsport Ireland for Josh McErlean and William Crieighton. Finally, there are also some C3 Rally2’s for Yohan Rossell, Stephane Lefebvre and Sean Johnson. It’s great to see this championship so well supported and this championship will likely be decided just like last year on the final round. The drivers get to choose the rounds that they enter, which brings an interesting element of uncertainty and unpredictability to the championship.
Summary
Who are the drivers that are likely to challenge for victory this weekend? It’s fair to say that Seb Ogier will be in the mix along with Thierry Neuville. Other drivers likely at be at the front include Kalle, Elfyn and Ott. Rising young stars Takamoto and Pierre-Louis will look to gain more experience for the future and the young Frenchman will certainly benefit from his new co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul who won this rally with Thierry in 2020.
The action starts on Thursday evening with the first two stages in the evening. Enjoy!
Mexico City ePrix: Jake Dennis Takes a Dominant Victory
Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis took the maiden win of the Gen3 era and Season 9 in Mexico City after a dominant performance.
At the start of the race, it was a clean getaway for all drivers. However, Robin Frijns hit the back of Norman Nato on lap 1 and had to stop the car on track. This brought out the first of three safety cars.
On lap 6, the safety car came in but Sam Bird suffered a mechanical failure and had to retire at turn 2. This brought out the safety car for a second time. From lap 9, the safety car and all remaining cars went through the pits due to where Bird’s car was stopped.
The second safety car entered the pits for racing to resume on lap 10 and Di Grassi held the lead from Dennis and Hughes. Lap 12 had a big surprise where Jake Dennis took the lead from Di Grassi and he built a healthy lead early on. He would build this lead over the course of the race and keep this lead for the rest of the race.
Lap 13 saw Dan Ticktum received a drive through penalty for overpower. That brought him down to last place. From lap 17, there was a fight for P2 between Di Grassi, Hughes, Wehrlein and Lotterer. Lap 18 saw Mortara crash into the turn 1 barrier and bring out the safety car for a third time.
The NIO cars- Image Credit: Formula E
We went green flag racing on lap 21 after the third safety car. Hughes held onto P3 while trying to catch up to Di Grassi in P2. Lap 25 saw Andre Lotterer make a mistake and go deep into corners 5 and 6. Lap 26 then saw both Di Grassi and Hughes take their second attack mode which saw Wehlein take P3 from Hughes. Wehrlein also took P2 from Di Grassi on lap 29.
Towards the end of the race, Lotterer was able to pressure Hughes for P5. A yellow flag appeared in the latter stages of the race due to debris and Vergne continued the race with no front wing. Rene Rast had to retire from the race in the latter stages of the race. On the last lap of the race, Lotterer attacked Hughes for P5 into turn 3 but Hughes just managed to keep it. Lotterer eventually made the pass for P4 and kept it as they went across the line.
Formula E returns with a double header in Saudi Arabia in 2 weeks time for the Diriyah E Prix.
A tense qualifying session for the first race of the 9th season of Formula E saw Di Grassi take pole in Mexico City! Here is how it all played out.
Group A:
The first Qualifying Session in Formula E got underway with Group A going out first. At the half way point of Group A, Lotterer, Di Grassi, Buemi and Guenther were all in the top 4. Rast, Sette Camara, Da Costa, Vergne Frijns, Fenestraz and Bird all needed to improve.
Lotterer, Di Grassi, Buemi and Fenestraz all went through to the duels.
Knocked Out in Group A:
Da Costa, Vergne, Sette Camara, Rast, Guenther, Frijns and Bird.
Group B:
In Group B, the remaining 12 drivers headed out to the track to try and get in to the finals. At the half way point, Ticktum, Hughes, Mortara and Wehrlein were all through with Evans, Cassidy, Vandoorne, Rowland, Dennis, Muller and Nato all needing to improve in order to get through.
Dennis, Ticktum, Wehrlein, Hughes are all make it through to the duels.
In the first Quarter Finals it was Lucas Di Grassi bs Sebastian Buemi. Di Grassi headed out first. Buemi had an early lead by 0.085 and increased it by 0.163 at the midway point. Di Grassi started to catch Buemi towards the end but Buemi lost time in the final sector and Di Grassi got through by 0.019!
In the second Quarter Final it was Sacha Fenestraz and Andre Lotterer. Fenestraz went out first and Fenestraz had a very healthy lead by 0.25 but Lotterer was catching him. Lotterer got ahead of him and beat Fenestraz by 0.04 of a second!
In the third Quarter Final it was Jake Hughes and Dan Ticktum. Hughes went out first and had an early lead over Ticktum. Ticktum started to catch him but Hughes beat Ticktum by 0.134!
In the fourth Quarter Final it was Pascal Wehrlein and Jake Dennis. Wehrlein went out first but Dennis got an early lead. He then built it to over 4 tenths but he got through by only 0.02!
Knocked Out in Quarter Finals:
Buemi, Fenestraz, Ticktum, and Wehrlein.
Semi Finals:
In the first semi finals it was Andre Lotterer and Lucas Di Grassi. Lotterer went wide on the middle of the lap and that put Di Grassi over 1.5 seconds ahead of him. Di Grassi went though to the final after that error from Lotterer.
In the second semi final it was Jake Dennis and Jake Hughes. Jake Dennis went our first but Hughes got the jump on Dennis. Dennis quickly got some more time and started to catch. Jake Hughes had some slides in the final moments of the lap so Dennis got through to the final.
Knocked Out in Semi Finals:
Hughes and Lotterer
Final:
In the final it was Lucas Di Grassi and Jake Dennis. Di Grassi went out first Di Grassi got an early lead and Dennis had 2 errors early on the lap. This lead Di Grassi to win the final!
Final Winner:
Di Grassi
Did you expect Lucas Di Grassi to take pole position in his first race with Mahindra? Do you think he can maintain pole to take the first win of the season?
It’s time for the new season to start with Rallye Monte Carlo just less than two weeks away. Let’s take a look at the driver switches that have taken place over the winter.
Let’s hear from the drivers.
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
The reigning champion team announced an unchanged line-up but with a couple of changes. Firstly, Takamoto Katsuta will now complete a full season, but now sharing the third car in the main team with Seb Ogier. When the Frenchman is driving, the young Japanese driver will drive a fourth GR Yaris for the Rally Challenge team. The other change confirms that Vincent Landais will co-drive the former world champion.
Kalle Rovanperä
“It has been a great three years already with this team, especially during this past season obviously when we could achieve some amazing results. Hopefully we can continue in a similar way next year and fight together with the team to win all three championships again. I think it will be an even bigger challenge to defend our titles because the competition is getting tougher all the time, but we will of course try our best.”
Elfyn Evans
“I’m excited to be heading into my fourth year with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing. We obviously enjoyed some great success already in our first two years together, and although 2022 didn’t deliver quite what I was hoping for on my side, I’m very happy to be part of such a successful team and one which is working so hard to improve all the time. Hopefully we can make 2023 a much stronger year on a personal side and continue the great success of the team.”
Sébastien Ogier
“I’m very happy to continue my cooperation with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing in 2023 with a partial programme, similar to what I have done this year. It’s something that I’m really enjoying, as it gives me the chance to race for a top team and keep following my passion, while also having a bit more time with my family and to do some different things. For me it’s great to carry on with the team and I look forward to fighting for more wins together.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“I’m really excited to make this next step in my career. To have this kind of role with the team has been a big target for me and I want to thank TOYOTA GAZOO Racing for giving me such an amazing opportunity. Of course, it will bring a bit more pressure than before, but I am very motivated to keep working hard to be ready for next season and to do the best job I can for the team.”
Hyundai Motorsport
This team were the first to announce their driver line up, with confirmation that Thierry Neuville would remain with the team. It was announced the day before that Craig Breen would be leaving M-Sport Ford and then announced that he would be rejoining this team again that he drove for two seasons on a part-time basis and will share the car with Dani Sordo. The final seat for a full-time drive went to Esapekka Lappi.
Thierry Neuville
“We can look towards the 2023 season in high spirits and with enhanced motivation, knowing we have a strong and experienced crew line-up. Esapekka will be a great addition to our team, and I am sure he will bring an important perspective to our operation. It’s also nice to have Craig back, sharing a third car with Dani. It’s a good combination of familiar faces and new blood that I am sure will give us fresh impetus as we embark on a new campaign. The team ethic is a really important value at Hyundai Motorsport, with all members of the company contributing to our goals; with our crew line-up confirmed, we are now in good shape as we look towards a new championship year.”
2022 FIA World Rally Championship Round 07, Rally Estonia 14-17 July 2022 Thierry Neuville Photographer: Austral Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Esapekka Lappi
“Life is full of surprises! Getting a chance to join Hyundai Motorsport and to drive a full-calendar WRC program was something we didn’t expect. This is truly a dream and a unique opportunity; we are very happy to join the Hyundai Motorsport family. The team showed during the 2022 season that it is capable of developing the car a lot during the season and has chances to win on every surface. From what I’ve heard already, 2023 looks very promising. We are well aware that there is a lot of work to do, but with Janne, I am committed to it. I believe we have a lot to give to the whole team. I want to thank Hyundai Motorsport for demonstrating their trust in us; we will do everything we can to be successful and to achieve our common goals.”
Dani Sordo
“The decision to sign again with Hyundai Motorsport was a clear and easy one for me; over ten years they have become a family. This is my team and where I belong. They have offered me another season in which I can share the third car with another crew, which suits my personal preferences. I am motivated to support the team and the other crews as much as I can.”
2022 FIA World Rally Championship Round 13, Rally Japan, 10-13 November 2022 X Photographer: Vincent Thuillier Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Craig Breen
“Joining Hyundai Motorsport for the 2023 WRC season feels like a homecoming for me. We have secured some very memorable results together in the past, including several runner-up results, so hopefully I will be able to take that a step further. I have followed the team’s progress and development with interest this season, and I can see the momentum that has been building. Having the backing of a manufacturer team like Hyundai is special, and I’m sure we’ll have plenty more reasons to celebrate next season.”
2021 FIA World Rally Championship Round 10, Rally Finland 01-03 October 2021 X Photographer: Vincent Thuillier Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
M-Sport Ford WRT
Ott Tänak
“M-Sport is the place that raised me as a driver and the place that taught me all the hard lessons and experience to become a top-level player in the World Rally Championship. Since becoming a world champion, I have not been able to defend the title, and I will not be able to make peace with myself until I do!
I have had many discussions with Malcolm, and we definitely share the same ambition for the upcoming season. It is going to be a big challenge for us, but I know the people at Dovenby Hall, I know what they are capable of and with their passion to give everything they have, we can challenge for the championship. I’m happy to be back at M-Sport Ford World Rally Team and we will give our everything next year!”
Pierre-Louis Loubet
“It’s a dream come true for me, something that I have been dreaming about since I was a kid. To do my first full season, and to do the main passion in my life every weekend is something truly fantastic.
“The full season takes off a lot of pressure because I know that I have 13 events to give me chance to show all my potential and gives me the space to grow and learn. In 2023, my most important goal will be to finish every event, to gain experience and learn to know where we can push and go for maximum speed.
“To be an official driver and scoring manufacturer points for M-Sport is something I have always wanted, I am so pleased that M-Sport is believing in me like this. A huge thank you to Malcolm and Rich who have done fantastic work for me. I’m so pleased to be working with M-Sport again, and to work alongside Ott as teammates is something very special.
“I would also like to say a big thank you to Alexandre and Gwen who helped us reach a new level, and Christophe for his support. I couldn’t have done it without them, or the support of my very good friend Laurent. I hope to have a good season and make them all proud.”
Nicolas Gilsoul
Nicolas Gilsoul (BEL) – Ford Fiesta RS WRC. Shakedown, 2013 Acropolis Rally
“I am very happy to be back in the WRC, especially with a really good package, with a young promising driver, top car and world champion teammates. The main thing as well for me is taking part in the entire WRC calendar. I met Pierre-Louis last year during a training camp in France, at that time he was in a tough situation, and I have been impressed by his mental strength to be able to show his speed, especially this year. Last weekend we did a national rally together and straight away I felt his driving skill which was enough to convince me.
“It’s fantastic to come back to M-Sport exactly 10 years after my first time as vice champion, it was probably my favourite year, we showed great speed and a lot of top memories. It was important for me to drive with Pierre-Louis prior to Monte, he is using a personal pace note system that I have never experienced before, like in every sport you need to practice in race conditions to get used to it. We all know Monte is the most complicated rally to approach, so it is essential to avoid any doubt at the start of the season.”
Let’s take a look at the championship calendar.
Round One – Rallye Monte Carlo
Round Two – Rally Sweden
Round Three – Rally Mexico
Round Four – Rally Croatia
Round Five – Rally Portugal
Round Six – Rally Italia Sardinia
Round Seven – Safari Rally Kenya
Round Eight – Rally Estonia
Round Nine – Rally Finland
Round Ten – Rally Greece
Round Eleven – Rally Chile
Round Twelve – Central Europe
Round Thirteen – Rally Japan
Summary
The calendar is interesting, but again there is no round in Wales making the last round of the championship to be held in Wales was in 2019. Also, after the successful return of Rally New Zealand last year once again this round has disappeared from the calendar. A very odd situation to have happened.
Finally let’s take a look at the strange way that the calendar has been put together at the end of the year. Rally Chile could have been held as a back-to-back round with Rally Mexico: this was done previously a few years ago. There has also been some fan criticism of Rally Mexico which has for some reason eight mickey mouse short stages over the three days. Given some of the quality stages that this event has run in the past, it is surprising to see this on this classic rally.
Mystic Motorsport – Predictions for Motorsport in 2023
Just as a psychic would say my senses are tingling as I read my mystic ball.
Andretti get entry for 2025
In 2022 season the Circuit of the Americas last corner was renamed after Mario Andretti the 1978 WDC Champion now more news for Andretti, it will be announced at COTA or maybe Vegas that Andretti will enter Formula 1.
It will be an all American venture as they have said previously, and they will announce the following drivers, Colton Herta as a rookie, and Alexander Rossi will return to Formula 1 after his brief spell in late 2015 with Marussia. He does have history with Andretti in Indycar, the only year
Aston Martin fighting amongst themselves for the last points position in Hungary 2022. Image courtesy of Aston Martin Media
not with the team he will drive with Autosport in the upcoming 2023. Their power unit is a temporary Renault deal as there were talks to have them In principal. Renault always looks to increase their share in the team pool. General Motors have their own engine lined up or work with Honda for 2026 as they are also behind the deal, so could see a Red Bull/Honda unit going forward much like how it seems Audi are working with the Sauber team.
Ferrari win Le Mans Overall
Ferrari take it back to 1965, winning one of the World’s greatest races, for the first time in 58 years! Going back to the days of Ferrari vs Ford! An epic film if you haven’t yet watched it.
Ferrari have been at Le Mans throughout the years but have stepped back to the GT series with the AF Corse car in recent times. It would be quite fitting considering this years’ Le Mans marks its centenary race, the 100th running of Le Mans in France. They now have the new 499P hypercar, fully expecting the likes of Antonio Fuoco, Alessandro Pier Guidi to be the drivers who was apart of the team as well as Antonio Giovinazzi, the reserve F1 driver to make up the team the main team. These will be the drivers to take victory.
They will also have a team made of non-Italians but they have raced with their GT cars such as the ever reliable James Calado but that will result in a non-finish, they will have success in other races throughout the WEC calendar.
Evans WRC Champion
Elfyn Evans over the last few years since joining Toyota from his previous team M-Sport Ford has always been the bridesmaid, never the bride, especially in 2020 and 2021 finishing second place. The sport dominated since 2004 by French drivers Sebastien Loeb and Ogier of late, only recent Ott Tanak and Kalle Rovanpera have changed that of late. It is now time that Evans to step up and becomes the first British driver to win the World Rally Champion since Richard Burns with the iconic Subaru Impreza in 2001.
Evans is great across all surfaces from the asphalt of Monaco, snow of Sweden to the traditional dirt of Kenya. He has victories in previous years and as rally is more known for consistency is key, as one mistake can end it all. He has a great relationship with co-driver Scott Martin who can lead him to success for 2023.
Hungarian GP Shake-Up
There has been talks over the last few years of bringing the MotoGP series to Hungary whether it be through the well-known Hungaroring or the new option considered Magyar Nemzetközi Motodrome only in rendered format designed by Herman Tilke currently.
This could possibly be announced for the MotoGP series when we hit the European rounds, and do see F1 possibly announcing when the contract ends at 2027 at Hungaroring that the tracks share the honour of holding the Grand Prix, rotating it, as Silverstone and Brands Hatch did from 1963 to 1986.
Just a few thoughts to put to the table! I can sense it!
As a new year begins in the world, a new era dawns on a motorsport series. This time, it relates to Formula E. The changes being brought it are pretty huge in comparison to the previous generation.
2 Gen 3 Cars in testing. Credit: Formula E
Sporting Regulation Changes:
Laps replaced timed races:
One of the most notable changes for the Formula E championship is the removal of timed races and the introduction of lap raced. This brings it on par with some of its other counterparts in the FIA series such as Formula 1. The amount of laps is unknown but this may bring a curveball into the team’s strategy. With this change, if there are any Safety Cars or Full Course Yellows at any stage during a race, more laps will be added onto the end of the race to maintain consistency.
Goodbye FanBoost, hello Attack Charge:
A key feature in Formula E, FanBoost, will be removed. This feature saw fans vote for a driver to gain 5% more power near the end of the race. However a new feature will be added: Attack Charge. Attack Charge is a 30 second stop which is mandatory which will allow the energy in the car to be increased from 300kW to 350kW. This will be trialled at certain races throughout the season and where it is not at the races, Attack Mode will be reinstated.
Rookie Sessions in FP1:
Following the footsteps of Formula 1, Formula E will allow drivers who have “never previously competed in the championship” to have at least 2 FP1 sessions during the season. These are mandatory and they will allow young drivers to see what Formula E has to offer as a sport.
Speaking about these regulation changes, Formula E CEO Jamie Reigle said that the new regulations “are evidence of the continued evolution and positive impact of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship” They go on to state that ” The combination of sporting enhancements, a step change in car performance, cutting-edge battery technology and the innovation of Attack Charge will make our racing more competitive and entertaining .”
Team and Calendar Changes:
3 cars on track in pre season testing. Credit: Formula E
New Teams and Drivers:
As with a traditional motor racing series, there have been changes to the driver line ups at teams and a few team changes. The most obvious one is Mercedes EQ have left the world of Formula E and have been replaced by McLaren.
McLaren’s line up is Jake Hughes and Rene Rast. The Formula E champion of 2022 Stoffel Vandoorne has gone to Penske while Nyck DeVries has gone over to Formula 1’s Alpha Tauri team.
Nissan have signed Sacha Fenestraz who took over from Antonio Giovinazzi at the final race last year, Sergio Sete Camara has joined NIO 333, Andre Lotterer has joined Avalanche Andretti with Antonio Felix da Costa joining Porsche and Mahindra Racing signing Lucas Di Grassi. These changes are expected to spice up the grid and the racing.
New Venues Enter the Calandar:
With a new season of Formula E also brings new and exciting venues which bring a factor of unpredictable to the track. The 4th, 5th and 6th rounds of Season 9 are the majority of the new venues on the calandar. These are Hyderabad in India, Cape Town in South Africa and Sao Paulo in Brazil. The final new venue for this season is Portland, America. Each of these venues are set to bring new and exciting changes for the drivers and the teams.
Formula E kicks off the start of the new era in Mexico City on 14th January 2023.
F1 esports has seen a changing of the guard this year. Brendon Leigh, driving for Mercedes AMG Petronas, took the title in 2017 and successfully defended the crown in 2018 in dominant fashion, before Scuderia Ferraris David Tonizza took the title to Italy for the prancing horse in 2019, narrowly fending off the advances of Denmarks Frederik Rasmussen. Since then, the wonder-Dutchman Jarno Opmeer has held dominion in the F1 esports arena, taking the crown in 2020 and 2021, both times seeing off fierce competition, and both times Rasmussen taking the second spot in the championship.
Mercedes and Redbull have been the teams to beat throughout F1 esports history (that sounds familiar), with two titles each (there was no constructors championship awarded in 2017). The constructors this year has already been sealed, McLaren Shadow will be crowned 2022 F1 esports constructors champions following the great work from Scotlands Lucas Blakeley, and the Man from Iranhaveari Boroumand.
Image courtesy of Ferrari
So who are the main contenders for Opmeers title this year?
Lucas Blakeley
Hailing from the highlands, Blakely was signed by BWT Racing Point in 2019. This would prove to be a somewhat difficult start to Blakeleys esports career, despite proving himself a very capable driver in the league racing scene. Whilst the speedy Scotsman did score a podium in 2019, he only raced anoBlakeley’sces that year, with results that did not reflect his talent. He was retained by Racing Point for 2020, in which he raced almost every race, but again the results didn’t go as expected. When Aston Martin took over Racing Point for 2021, Blakeley was now really getting into his stride, finishing third in the season, and this year, he has been a major component in McLaren Shadows championship winning season, and leads the drivers championship.
Thomas Ronhaar The new rising star from The Netherlands is Ronhaar. He absolutely stormed the league racing scene and currently drives in Haas colours. Ronhaar sits just five points behind Blakeley, and has been doing everything to win his debut championship and keep the title in Dutch hands.
Frederik Rasmussen
You can never keep a good man down, or a good diver back. Rasmussen has finished in the top three in the drivers championship in every year F1 esports has existed, and was a force in league racing before 2017 as well. The great Dane has been in the Redbull family since being signed by Toro Rosso in 2018 and moved over to the main squad in 2019, where he has been ever since. Only 14 points separates him to Blakeley, and the competition is as fierce as ever.
Bardia Boroumand
The man from Iran has been in the league racing scene a long time, and is no stranger to competing at the front, but didn’t enter the F1 esports world until 2020, where he was the third driver for Mercedes behind Leigh and Bono Huis. Boroumand only raced once that year, and after moving to McLaren in 2021, he has gone from strength to strength. A regular points scorer and occasional podium saw Bari finish fifth in 2021, and this year he has scored a far bigger haul of podiums, and a win at Spa, all of which sees him fourth in the standings, just 16 points behind teammate Blakeley.
Jarno Opmeer A man that is known throughout the F1 esports and league racing world, he hit the ground running, being signed by Renault in 2019 and coming home in fourth in the championship, before commencing his dominance in 2020 with Alfa Romeo and continuing with Mercedes in 2021. The champion is still mathematically able to retain the crown, but with a 34-point deficit to Blakeley, it will need a big helping of luck to swing the momentum his way
With two races still left, Brazil and Abu Dhabi, the stage is set for a thrilling conclusion to a season that has seen a huge shake-up in the establishment.
